#Current Affairs

[Podcast] Ramadan Is Not For Your Private Spirituality | Dr Farah El-Sharif

Published

March 3, 2026

Is Ramadan really a time to simply withdraw from the world? When we are fasting while witnessing genocides in across the Muslim world, are we really meant to turn to private worship and ignore what’s happening?

Zainab bint Younus speaks to Dr. Farah El-Sharif about what grappling with the concept of resistance in light of Islamic ethics, navigating scholarly advice to avoid politics, and the fears that many have about the consequences of engaging in resistance. This episode highlights the importance of Islam as more than just a private religious practice, and the revolutionary potential of Islamic theology in changing the world – during Ramadan, and beyond.

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[This episode was recorded on February 24 and does not reflect or account for up-to-date political changes.]

Dr. Farah El-Sharif is a writer, educator and scholar in Islamic intellectual history. She received her PhD from Harvard University where she specialised in West African Islamic intellectual history. She studied with scholars in Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Jordan and the US. You can find her writings on Substack, “Sermons at Court.”

Related:

[Podcast] The Faith of Muslim Political Prisoners | Dr. Walaa Quisay & Dr. Asim Qureshi

[Podcast] Muslims, Muslim-ness, and Islam in Politics | Celsabil Hadj-Cherif

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Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah

Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.

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Zainab bint Younus

Zainab bint Younus (AnonyMouse) is a Canadian Muslim woman who writes on Muslim women's issues, gender related injustice in the Muslim community, and Muslim women in Islamic history. She holds a diploma in Islamic Studies from Arees University, a diploma in History of Female Scholarship from Cambridge Islamic College, and has spent the last fifteen years involved in grassroots da'wah. She was also an original founder of MuslimMatters.org.

1 Comment

Amer Rizvi

March 3, 2026 at 3:17 PM

Totally agree! For me, Ramadan is not just a month for forgiveness and mercy; it’s also a month for justice. Some of the greatest events in Islamic history, like the Battle of Ain Jalut, Badr, and the conquest of Jerusalem by Salahuddin (may Allah have mercy on him), all took place during Ramadan.

I consider writing my 13,000-word, 30-page opening brief at night for the US federal court against the school district that oppressed me and vulnerable school children as an act of ibaada, just like praying Taraweeh in the mosque, insha’Allah.

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